Jonathan Quick was smiling and insightful after the Kings won the Western Conference finals on Monday.

Who was this goaltender and what did he do with the usually gruff Quick?

He let his guard down a little bit with reporters in Chicago, and his jovial disposition was because the Kings had just clinched a berth in the Stanley Cup Final.

Quick had just made the biggest save of the postseason, one that helped propel the Kings to a date with the New York Rangers in the Finals. Game 1 is in Los Angeles on Wednesday.

He’s surely still reliving that moment in the waning seconds in regulation of Game 7 at the United Center.

Chicago’s Andrew Shaw fired a shot from the slot with six seconds left, and Quick was there to stop it. He was down on the ice and the puck was loose, but he covered it so Patrick Kane couldn’t knock home the rebound.

If he doesn’t make that save, the Kings’ season ends right there with a last-second goal.

Instead, the Kings are playing for the franchise’s second Stanley Cup championship. Quick is responsible for plenty of that success, even though he’s not the same goalie he was in 2012 when the Kings won the Stanley Cup.

He’s done what he’s needed to, despite some tense and heartstopping moments, and helped the Kings win three Game 7s, all on the road.

“You look back over the last six, seven years this group’s been together, and we have a lot of things like that that we’ve done and accomplished,” Quick said. “It’s a great group to be part of. I feel very fortunate to be with these guys.”

The Kings are fortunate Quick can bend — they went down 2-0 in the first period of Game 7 on Sunday, for example — and still stand tall.

To match that type of postseason dominance Quick had in 2012, when he allowed only 29 goals in 20 games, would be a lofty expectation. He had a .946 save percentage and won the Conn Smythe.

This postseason, he’s allowed 59 goals in 21 games for a .906 save percentage. Some of it has been on Quick. Some have been bad bounces. Some have been mistakes in front of him.

He’s been shaky and moments and stingy in moments.

But the critical saves — like the one against Shaw — are why his teammates have just as much confidence in him.

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“People have been hard on him because his save percentage is down,” captain Dustin Brown said. “At the end of the day, you look back through the series and save percentage is an important stat for goaltenders, but there are certain saves Jon Quick makes that changes the outcomes of the game.

“He might give up four but make two saves he shouldn’t have made that change the outcome of the game. That was probably one of them at the end. That’s why I think he’s one of the best goalies, regardless of what his numbers are this postseason. He’s confident in himself. We’re confident in him. He makes the big saves when we need him to.”

Quick is not afraid to mix it up, either. He and Chicago goalie Corey Crawford exchanged words during an intermission of Game 6 of the Western Conference finals. It was a rare sight, indeed, but goalies and confidence are key.

Quick must match Rangers goaltender Henrik Lundqvist, who will be playing for his first Stanley Cup championship.

No team has been through the ringer like Quick and the Kings, having played 21 postseason games.

“New York is an awesome team,” Quick said. “They beat a few great teams to get here. They’re battle-tested as well.”

Quick is tested, too.

He’s proving he doesn’t have to be dominant. He’s proving he can be human — allowing 13 goals in the last three games of the series against Chicago — and still make the best save at the most critical time.

And then watch the immediate celebration after Martinez’s game-winning goal.

“I didn’t see it go in. I just saw the guys put their hands up,” Quick said. “There was traffic. I saw it going toward the net and it found a way.”

Just like Quick, who just keeps finding a way to get it done for the Kings in goal.